Digital magazines are gaining momentum in the iPad age. Now, Charisma
Media is delivering news, information and inspiration to Spirit-filled
believers through the Charisma Media iPad app.

The Charisma Media iPad app is the fruit of nearly two years of
research, development and approval processes with Apple. With the launch
of the new app, Charisma Media’s vision for reaching the nations for
Christ through advanced technology charges ahead on yet another
platform. Readers can download the iPad app free and subscribe to
Charisma Digital to read Charisma anywhere they go.

“When I launched Charisma magazine 30 years ago, I never
dreamed I’d one day read it on a large-screen mobile device like the
iPad,” says Steve Strang, founder and CEO of Charisma Media. “We’ve
always been at the forefront of Christian movements with our editorial
perspective. With Charisma Digital, we’re on the cutting-edge of Christian media delivery as more consumers read their news on portable devices.”

For readers, this new digital platform offers an opportunity to experience Charisma
magazine on a whole new level. Readers can navigate through interactive
pages loaded with rich media and experience the convenience of Charisma
on the world’s most popular tablet device. A new report from the The
Magazine Publisher’s Association (MPA) reveals that tablet owners are
reading more thanks to the rise of digital magazines. In fact, 66
percent of people who read magazines on tablet devices and e-readers
expect to spend more time with digital issues in 2012—and 90 percent say
they are reading as much, if not more, magazine content since buying a
tablet.

“Interactive digital magazines like Charisma Digital are
ideal for tablets and e-reader devices—devices on which the next
generation of charismatic Christians are consuming media,” says Marcus
Yoars, editor of Charisma magazine. “With Charisma Digital,
you can tap into Spirit-filled news, inspiring features and teaching
articles that help equip you to make a difference in your world.”

For advertisers, Charisma Digital presents a new opportunity
to reach a growing market of savvy consumers. The MPA survey reveals
that 59 percent of consumers want to buy directly from advertisements
and 79 percent say they want the ability to purchase products and
services directly from editorial features. Nearly 75 percent of those
surveyed say they typically engage with digital magazine ads.

“Digital magazines are taking the medium to the next level,” says
Christopher Kevorkian, executive vice president of Digital at the MPA.
“While various research has long proved that print magazines drive
purchase behavior, digital magazines hold the promise of creating a
direct link between purchase intent and actual transaction. The study
proves that consumers look to magazine media to create that
opportunity.”

How to get Charisma on your iPad:

1. Subscribe to Charisma Digital online at and create your username and password for full access to Charisma Digital.*
2. Open the iPad Newsstand store.
3. Search for “Charisma” or “Charisma Media.”
4. Download the free Charisma Media app (Internet connection and iTunes account required).
5. Sign in with your Charisma Digital username/password and download individual issues, with more added every two weeks.

Click here to get started.

*By subscribing through iTunes, users currently can’t access all issues of Charisma Digital. (This will be fixed shortly.)

After more than a decade of watching the war on Christmas rage—we’ve seen everything from battles over “Xmas versus Christmas” to a ban on nativity scenes and beyond—I’ve concluded that we have to keep fighting.

The war on Christmas is, after all, a war on Christ. Jesus advocates for us before the Father (1 John 2:1). The least we could do is advocate for Him before man. (This is where you offer a good, hearty “amen!”)

Honestly, I get a bit weary of reporting on the twists and turns of the atheistic, humanistic (and other “istic”) affronts launched against all things Christian during this time of year. And you may get a bit weary of reading about it. But we must not only read about the war on Christmas—we must also engage in it.

The truth is, the spirits behind the war on Christmas don’t stop battling after we take our dying Christmas trees to the end of the driveway.

We’re Not Wrestling for Santa and Candy Canes
Saints, now is the time to put on the whole armor of God and fight, because we’re not wrestling for Santa and candy canes. We’re wrestling for the right to exalt the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Son of God—Jesus Christ. Indeed, we’re not fighting against human enemies. It’s not the politicians or the media personalities or the unbelieving masses we’re up against.

Let us remember that we’re wrestling against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of the age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12). Friends, there really is a war on Christmas. And we really do need to take up the whole armor of God—but not to cut the politicians, media personalities and atheists to pieces with our tongues. We need to take up the whole armor of God in order to stand. Yes, to stand.

Think about it for a minute. The war on Christmas is merely a seasonal skirmish in the larger culture war. If we don’t take our positions and stand with the full armor of God in the midst of this culture war, who will?

Let me put it another way: If we don’t stand having girded our waste with truth, we may subtly stop resisting the lies that the principalities are propagating. If we don’t put on the breastplate of righteousness, we may get self-righteous in our own piety. If we don’t shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, those lost politicians, media personalities and atheists may suffer a sad fate.

Wield Your Sword of the Spirit
Above all, if we don’t take the shield of faith, we won’t be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. It’s clear that those fiery darts are aimed at the body of Christ. But just because the rulers of the darkness of this age continue organizing onslaughts doesn’t mean we can’t let our light shine—we must. The Bible says not to be conformed to this world (Rom. 12:2). Jesus said His disciples are not of this world (John 17:16). And the Bible says as Jesus is so are we in this world (1 John 4:17).

Beloved, you have been blessed with the helmet of salvation. You will spend eternity with our Lord and Savior. The battle will one day be over. But for now, it’s vital that you take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints (Eph. 6:17-18).

The dust is settling on the war on Christmas. But make no mistake: the culture war is raging and if we don’t resist these devils they won’t flee. In fact, not only will the devils not flee, they will get more aggressive in transforming America into an atheistic, humanistic society where harsh persecution become a reality.

So again, after more than a decade of watching the war on Christmas rage, I’ve concluded that we have to keep fighting. Are you with me? Or, better stated, are you with Jesus?

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Heart of the Prophetic. You can e-mail Jennifer at

@ or visit her website here.

Evangelist endures “toughest year of my life” but says Jesus has healed him

The evangelist perhaps best known for the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Fla., Steve Hill battled melanoma for more than three years—and refused to give up despite what sounded like death knocking at his door. Now he’s preparing to run back to the battle line with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Steve Hill Ministries’ staff in June called for 48 hours of focused prayer and fasting on behalf of the evangelist who founded Heartland Church in Las Colinas, Texas, after the battle for his life intensified. What the staff didn’t tell the world at that time was that doctors had given him three days to live.

“I’ve been through the toughest year of my life,” Hill told Charisma. “I’ve been in a wheelchair for many months. Last June, the doctors gave me three days to live. Funeral arrangements were being made. Hospice was at my house for six months waiting for me to die from this cancer. Sorry, Charlie … not today. I plan on living many more years—at least Hezekiah’s 15 extra years. Jesus heals.”

Hill is no stranger to the power of Jesus to deliver. Fueled by his own dramatic deliverance from drugs, alcohol and crime in 1975, Hill has dedicated his life to spreading the gospel around the world. His passion to help those who are hurting and his pursuit of genuine, God-breathed revival have only intensified after years of missionary work, church planting and evangelistic crusades.

If anything, Hill’s battle with cancer only gave him a greater determination to preach the gospel. He says he can’t wait to get back on the front lines, calling his sword “sharp” and the fire in his heart “white hot.” He plans to shout the cross, the blood, repentance and salvation through Jesus from the housetops to close what he sees as a widening gulf between God and humanity.

“I’ve never seen such loneliness and despair. People are grasping at anything that will give just a moment of relief,” Hill says. “Christ must be offered without apology. This generation of Christians has the greatest opportunity, the most incredible tools and an audience that is craving the hard-core truth.” 

Hill says Christians today must burn with the passion of Elijah and have the endurance of the apostle Paul. Trials like the one he’s been through are certain to come, he says, but he’s quick to encourage others: “Press on! These are hard times yet these are the best of times. Let’s not let the curtain close without pouring everything we have into this conflict. Victory is certain.”

God has given us the ability to reason—but too much mental
reasoning blocks spiritual discernment and breeds plenty of
confusion.

With that in mind, is it possible that you are reasoning yourself
out of prophetic wisdom that could be blocking your spiritual growth,
your blessings, and even the full manifestation of your destiny?

I’ll admit it. I am analytical. I tend to reason through every
possibility before making a decision. But I also pray after my
thoughtful analysis and ultimately submit my plans to the written
Word and the Spirit’s leading (which always agree).

Of course, I’m
not perfect. But my purpose is to lean not on my own
understanding—even when my own understanding seems plentiful in my
own eyes (Prov. 3:5-6).

Because the human heart is deceitful above all things there is an
ever-present danger of flowing in pride instead of flowing in the
Spirit (Jer. 17:9). This is especially true when we consider
ourselves well-versed, experts even, in any area. Knowledge puffeth
up (1 Cor. 8:1), after all, and pride comes before the fall (Prov.
16:18).

If we rely solely on our own reasoning—our own understanding—we
could find ourselves shipwrecked. But if we rely on the Spirit’s
wisdom—on His reasoning—we may find ourselves with a haul of
blessings so big we can’t contain them. Indeed, we can see this
very principle in Scripture.

Just before Paul began his voyage to Rome, he received some
prophetic wisdom from God. Paul told a centurion that he perceived a
voyage that ended in disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo
and the ship, but also lives (Acts 27:10). That’s a pretty dire
warning. But did the centurion listen to Paul? No, he was more
persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship, who reasoned
that the harbor was not suitable to winter in.

The centurion’s response was, well, reasonable. The helmsman and
the owner of the ship were expert sailors with keen understanding
about the ways of the sea. Paul, by contrast, was a
Pharisee-turned-tentmaker-turned-gospel-preacher who had no formal
sailing experience. Paul simply didn’t have the same seafaring
credibility as the sailors. So when a majority decided that setting
sail was the best move, expert reasoning won out over prophetic
wisdom.

How many times have we done the same thing in our own lives? Our
past experience and our smart friends give us reasons to go down a
certain path even though we feel in our spirit that we should go the
road less traveled. So we head off in a direction our expert friends
suggested—and circumstances seem favorable at first. We think we
have confirmation and we feel pretty good about our decision. That’s
what happened to Paul’s shipmates. After they decided to ignore
Paul’s prophetic wisdom and set sail, a south wind blew softly.
They supposed natural circumstances were proving their reasoning
right (Acts 27:13).

Then it happened. Not long after they set sail, a tempestuous head
wind arose. The ship was caught up in it. Just a few moments after
expert pride caused the helmsman to set sail, all hope was lost that
the ship would be saved (Acts 17:20).

Many of us have experienced similar circumstances. We rush out
fully believing we are in God’s will only to run into a major storm
that brings discouragement and despair. We are confused because we
sought wisdom in the counsel of many—but we weren’t moving in
God’s timing so we landed in a tempest when God had planned a
harvest. That’s not to say that just because you encounter trials
along your journey you missed it. But many times when you move
against God’s prophetic wisdom, even unknowingly, you face
obstacles that you wouldn’t have otherwise seen.

Peter also had the opportunity to choose prophetic wisdom or lean
on his own understanding. Peter let Jesus use his boat while He was
teaching the multitudes. After Jesus was done with His sermon, He
told Peter to “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for
a catch” (Luke 5:4). Now, Peter was an expert fisherman. He knew
when and where—and how—to fish. Jesus was a carpenter by trade.
Peter quickly answered with the voice of reason: “Master, we have
toiled all night and caught nothing … .”

Had Peter stopped there, he would have missed his blessing. But he
continued, “Nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net”
(Luke 5:5). Peter went against his own understanding and leaned into
the prophetic wisdom Jesus offered. Jesus knew full well that Peter
would catch so many fish that his boat couldn’t even hold them all.
The haul was so great that the nets were about to break and the boats
about to sink. Ah, the blessings of obedience. Peter could have
reasoned himself out of that blessing. How many blessings have we
talked ourselves out of?

Of course, God in His mercy works everything out according to the
counsel of His will—and His will is good (Eph. 1:11). That means
even when we stray off the Spirit’s path and onto the road of
reasoning, He will work all things together for our good (Rom. 8:28).

When Peter walked away from his fishing business to follow
Jesus—which goes against all logical reasoning—he received some
greatest spiritual blessings. Peter had the revelation from the
Father that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God; Peter
preached the first Holy Ghost message that got thousands saved; Peter
was a father of the early church. Indeed, Peter’s blessings for
embracing prophetic wisdom go well beyond the boatload of fish.

But God also worked Paul’s unfortunate situation together for
good. Although the boat on which Paul was traveling to Rome wound up
shipwrecked on Malta, God used the occasion to advance the gospel.
Publius, a leading citizen of the island, got healed of fever and
dysentery. Then the rest of the people on the island who had diseases
came to Paul to be healed by Jesus (Acts 28:7-9).

Although Luke doesn’t record salvations, I am convinced that
many of those who received healing also received salvation—and,
knowing what we know about Paul, probably got filled with the Holy
Ghost too! And that’s ultimately what it’s all about: getting
people saved, filled with the Spirit, and equipped to be a witness
for Jesus.

So as you face your next crossroads, consider the eternal
perspective. Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways
acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. Even if you run into a
tempest, you can be sure that He knew about it beforehand and is
using it to bring you toward your destiny in Christ.

About the author: Jennifer
LeClaire is
news editor at Charisma
magazine. She is also the
author of several books, including The Heart of the
Prophetic. You can email
Jennifer at @.
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JavaScript enabled to view it, or
visit her website here.

The first and worst cause of error that prevails in our day is spiritual pride.

So said Jonathan Edwards, a preacher, theologian and missionary to Native Americans who lived in the 1700s. Edwards went on to say that spiritual pride is the main door by which the devil comes into the hearts of those who are zealous for the advancement of Christ—the chief inlet of smoke from the bottomless pit to darken the mind and mislead the judgment, and the main handle by which Satan takes hold of Christians to hinder a work of God. Powerful words!

If that was true in Edwards’ day—and it was—then how much more is it true in our day?

Think about it for a minute. In Edwards’ era, there were no megachurches, no Facebook pages where charismatic preachers could woo millions of “fans,” no global satellites to broadcast prosperity messages to the masses, and no Hollywood Christianity with all its trappings. In Edwards’ era, rather, Europeans were fleeing to North America, in part, to gain freedom from oppressive religious systems.

Recognizing Spiritual Pride
Again, if spiritual pride was a stark reality in Edwards’ day, how much more is it true in our era? Oh, if Edwards could only see us today …

In the modern church world, we see spiritual pride because of position, spiritual pride because of prominence, spiritual pride because of popularity … even if it’s only position, prominence and popularity in a small local church. To be sure, the spiritually proud preacher doesn’t need a large kingdom to call his own in order to feel superior.

The spiritually proud man sees himself as more discerning, more anointed, more eloquent, more revelatory, more important and, otherwise, well, more spiritual than you. Some of the ways spiritual pride manifests include self-righteousness, hypercritical attitudes, hypocrisy, scorning correction or guidance, putting on pretenses, and false humility.

Of course, God hates pride in any form, but I believe spiritual pride is the worst manifestation. It’s so deceptive that the one who walks in spiritual pride is too proud to consider that he may be suffering from this deplorable disease. In fact, spiritual pride mistakes the favor of man for the favor of God.

Let’s be clear: Just because people fall down and vibrate on the floor after the preacher lays hands on them doesn’t mean God is pleased with the preacher’s heart attitude. The Spirit moves in response to the faith in the hearts of hungry people who come looking for God. Even miracles, signs and wonders don’t validate a spiritually proud pastor’s stance. It may take years or even decades, but make no mistake: if the spiritually proud man does not repent God will eventually bring him low.

God Won’t Share His Glory
Now, there is a danger even greater than the spiritually proud preacher who looks down on others—it’s the spiritually proud preacher who takes God’s glory for himself. When this happens, I believe the disease Edwards mentioned becomes morbid. See, God will not give His glory to another (Isaiah 48:11). He just won’t.

Consider Nebuchadnezzar. By the grace of God the Babylonian king grew and became strong—his greatness reached to the heavens and his dominion to the end of the earth (Dan. 4:20). Yet Nebuchadnezzar let spiritual pride into his heart. Daniel warned him to “break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor” (Dan. 4:27). But the proud king ignored the humble prophet.

A year later, Nebuchadnezzar was walking about the royal palace of Babylon when he said, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my might and power and for the honor of my majesty?” (Dan. 4:30). No sooner did those words depart from his mouth did Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom depart from him. He wound up dwelling with the beasts of the field, eating grass. God gave Nebuchadnezzar a space to repent. But eventually God cut off the flow of spiritual pride when Nebuchadnezzar tried to take His glory.

Then there’s King Herod. Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus, the king’s personal aide, their friend, they asked for peace because their country was supplied with food by the king’s country. So on a set day by Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, he sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not a man!” Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God (Acts 12:20-24). King Herod had moved in pride for decades, but God’s grace eventually ran out.

Curing Spiritual Pride
By contrast, humble servants of the Lord do not take God’s glory for themselves. When Peter entered the home of Cornelius, a centurion who had invited him to share the gospel in his home fell down at his feet and worshipped him. But Peter lifted him up saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man” (Acts 10:25-26). Peter knew better than to touch God’s glory. In humility, he stood there and preached the gospel to the gentiles, reasoning that God is no respecter of persons and many were saved to the glory of God.

In Lystra, Paul and Barnabus faced a similar situation. When Paul observed that a man who was crippled from birth had faith to be healed, he told the man to stand up on his feet. The healing power of God met him at the point of his faith and healed him. When the people of Lystra saw what happened, they called Paul Hermes and Barnabas Zeus and intended to sacrifice an oxen to them.

“But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out and saying, ‘Men, why are you doing these things? We are also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea and all things that are in them’” (Acts 14:14-15).

Paul could have chosen to take the glory for himself; instead he would end up getting stoned. People thought they had killed him, but God had another plan for a man who refused to take His glory.

Edwards concluded that until the disease of spiritual pride is cured, medicines are applied in vain to heal all other diseases. The good news is spiritual pride can be cured. The prescription is strong dose of conviction, repentance and humility—and I might say an ongoing effort to cooperate with the grace of God to walk in the fear of the Lord.

It’s interesting to note that Edwards is credited with playing a key role in the First Great Awakening. While there’s plenty of talk about another Great Awakening and a healing of our land, I believe any widespread move of God is going to start with you and with me. We need to work with the Holy Spirit to root out spiritual pride and walk in humility so that we are prepared when God answers our cries to “show me Your glory.”

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Heart of the Prophetic. You can e-mail Jennifer at

@ or visit her website here.

God has given us the ability to reason—but too much mental reasoning blocks spiritual discernment and breeds plenty of confusion.

With that in mind, is it possible that you are reasoning yourself out of prophetic wisdom that could be blocking your spiritual growth, your blessings, and even the full manifestation of your destiny?

I’ll admit it. I am analytical. I tend to reason through every possibility before making a decision. But I also pray after my thoughtful analysis and ultimately submit my plans to the written Word and the Spirit’s leading (which always agree). Of course, I’m not perfect. But my purpose is to lean not on my own understanding—even when my own understanding seems plentiful in my own eyes (Prov. 3:5-6).

Because the human heart is deceitful above all things there is an ever-present danger of flowing in pride instead of flowing in the Spirit (Jer. 17:9). This is especially true when we consider ourselves well-versed, experts even, in any area. Knowledge puffeth up (1 Cor. 8:1), after all, and pride comes before the fall (Prov. 16:18).

If we rely solely on our own reasoning—our own understanding—we could find ourselves shipwrecked. But if we rely on the Spirit’s wisdom—on His reasoning—we may find ourselves with a haul of blessings so big we can’t contain them. Indeed, we can see this very principle in Scripture.

Just before Paul began his voyage to Rome, he received some prophetic wisdom from God. Paul told a centurion that he perceived a voyage that ended in disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also lives (Acts 27:10). That’s a pretty dire warning. But did the centurion listen to Paul? No, he was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship, who reasoned that the harbor was not suitable to winter in.

The centurion’s response was, well, reasonable. The helmsman and the owner of the ship were expert sailors with keen understanding about the ways of the sea. Paul, by contrast, was a Pharisee-turned-tentmaker-turned-gospel-preacher who had no formal sailing experience. Paul simply didn’t have the same seafaring credibility as the sailors. So when a majority decided that setting sail was the best move, expert reasoning won out over prophetic wisdom.

How many times have we done the same thing in our own lives? Our past experience and our smart friends give us reasons to go down a certain path even though we feel in our spirit that we should go the road less traveled. So we head off in a direction our expert friends suggested—and circumstances seem favorable at first. We think we have confirmation and we feel pretty good about our decision. That’s what happened to Paul’s shipmates. After they decided to ignore Paul’s prophetic wisdom and set sail, a south wind blew softly. They supposed natural circumstances were proving their reasoning right (Acts 27:13).

Then it happened. Not long after they set sail, a tempestuous head wind arose. The ship was caught up in it. Just a few moments after expert pride caused the helmsman to set sail, all hope was lost that the ship would be saved (Acts 17:20).

Many of us have experienced similar circumstances. We rush out fully believing we are in God’s will only to run into a major storm that brings discouragement and despair. We are confused because we sought wisdom in the counsel of many—but we weren’t moving in God’s timing so we landed in a tempest when God had planned a harvest. That’s not to say that just because you encounter trials along your journey you missed it. But many times when you move against God’s prophetic wisdom, even unknowingly, you face obstacles that you wouldn’t have otherwise seen.

Peter also had the opportunity to choose prophetic wisdom or lean on his own understanding. Peter let Jesus use his boat while He was teaching the multitudes. After Jesus was done with His sermon, He told Peter to “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4). Now, Peter was an expert fisherman. He knew when and where—and how—to fish. Jesus was a carpenter by trade. Peter quickly answered with the voice of reason: “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing …”

Had Peter stopped there, he would have missed his blessing. But he continued, “Nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net” (Luke 5:5). Peter went against his own understanding and leaned into the prophetic wisdom Jesus offered. Jesus knew full well that Peter would catch so many fish that his boat couldn’t even hold them all. The haul was so great that the nets were about to break and the boats about to sink. Ah, the blessings of obedience. Peter could have reasoned himself out of that blessing. How many blessings have we talked ourselves out of?

Of course, God in His mercy works everything out according to the counsel of His will—and His will is good (Eph. 1:11). That means even when we stray off the Spirit’s path and onto the road of reasoning, He will work all things together for our good (Rom. 8:28).

When Peter walked away from his fishing business to follow Jesus—which goes against all logical reasoning—he received some greatest spiritual blessings. Peter had the revelation from the Father that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God; Peter preached the first Holy Ghost message that got thousands saved; Peter was a father of the early church. Indeed, Peter’s blessings for embracing prophetic wisdom go well beyond the boatload of fish.

But God also worked Paul’s unfortunate situation together for good. Although the boat on which Paul was traveling to Rome wound up shipwrecked on Malta, God used the occasion to advance the gospel. Publius, a leading citizen of the island, got healed of fever and dysentery. Then the rest of the people on the island who had diseases came to Paul to be healed by Jesus (Acts 28:7-9).

Although Luke doesn’t record salvations, I am convinced that many of those who received healing also received salvation—and, knowing what we know about Paul, probably got filled with the Holy Ghost too! And that’s ultimately what it’s all about: getting people saved, filled with the Spirit, and equipped to be a witness for Jesus.

So as you face your next crossroads, consider the eternal perspective. Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. Even if you run into a tempest, you can be sure that He knew about it beforehand and is using it to bring you toward your destiny in Christ.

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Heart of the Prophetic. You can email Jennifer at

@ or visit her website here.

Have you ever felt like you are living in a vicious circle? Even now you may be trying your best to solve a problem only to discover that every step you take is making the problem worse—or even creating new problems.

If that’s you, stop and ask yourself—is this a vicious circle or a demonic cycle? In other words, is one trouble in your life leading to another because of the classic law of cause and effect, a law that can easily snowball for better or worse? Or are you wrestling against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places? (Eph. 6:12)

Before we go on, let me state emphatically that every obstacle or setback we face in life is not rooted in demonic activity. Becoming super-skilled in spiritual warfare isn’t going to solve all of your problems because all of your problems aren’t originating demons. Getting hyper focused on identifying demons and tearing down strongholds can actually perpetuate the vicious cycle. What we magnify tends to manifest. Magnify the devil and he seems bigger in your eyes. Magnify Jesus and His glory inspires you to overcome by His grace.

With all that said, demonic cycles—a phrase I use to describe how demons create and manipulate strongholds in our minds to tempt us to walk around the same mountain over and over again—are real. Demonic cycles are more than just bad habits—and demonic cycles can be more difficult to break because you may not even recognize there’s a mental stronghold involved in your drama. And you can’t break the power of something you don’t know is there.

Demonic cycles could manifest as overeating, job instability, yearly sickness, relationship issues, problems with authority and many other undesirable woes. Demons can whisper in your ear and fortify ungodly thoughts in any area of your mind that isn’t renewed. In this way, the demonic cycle may actually empower the vicious circle.

With demonic cycles, spirits often work to perpetuate acts of self-sabotage of which you are unaware. You start a new job but you have the same personality that conflicts with the boss you encountered at the last job. You get a new boyfriend and soon enough end up having the same arguments as you had with the last boyfriend. You plan to get up an hour earlier to read your Bible and pray but you end up getting distracted by less-than-eternal purposes. So you find yourself looking for a new job and a new boyfriend even as you are dying on the vine because you aren’t feeding your spirit. The common denominator is you. Whether you know it or not, you are allowing the demonic cycle to continue. Are you beginning to see it?

Breaking the power of vicious circles is often a matter of making better choices, but when it’s a demonic cycle you need to identify the imaginations and wrong thought patterns that are allowing wicked spirits to wreak havoc on your life. Ultimately, you have to take responsibility for your choices. No demon in hell is stronger than a will aligned with the Word of God. God’s grace floods the soul that seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

The apostle Paul offers some good advice: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled” (2 Cor. 10:3-6).

In order to break demonic cycles rooted in soulish strongholds, you have to make a purposeful and diligent effort to cast down the imaginations that defy the Word of God. As believers, we have the privilege of using God’s Word to tear down barriers erected against His truth. We have the power to fit every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of a life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity (2 Cor. 10:3-6).

Beloved, that’s good news! If you want to break demonic cycles in your life, humble yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to help you find the Scriptures that will serve as your double-edged sword to slice into pieces the demonic strongholds in your mind. Even if it’s a generational curse or if you need full-blown deliverance, the blood of Jesus, the name of Christ and the Word of God are more powerful weapons than anything Satan has in his arsenal.

Dig down to the root of your thinking. Where did it start? Forgive anyone who hurt you. Forgive yourself. Receive forgiveness from the Lord for your wrong thinking and self-sabotage. Ask the Lord to fill you with His Holy Spirit, love the people around you, take on a new attitude, and call those things that be not as though they were. As you do, you’ll begin to see things as He does—through the eyes of faith—and your behavior will begin to change. You’ll break the demonic cycle and stop walking in vicious circles. I assure you, whom the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36).

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Heart of the Prophetic. You can e-mail Jennifer at

@ or visit her website here.

There’s plenty of talk about prayer, prophetic intercession, standing in the gap, making up the hedge, prayer burdens, and, of course, spiritual warfare. But how do we discern the call to prayer? How do we recognize a proverbial prayer burden?

These questions may seem simple, but far too many saints have come to me carrying burdens they thought were their own when in reality they were feeling the weight of oppression over a person or a city. I know how they feel. It took me some years to learn to accurately divide soul and spirit.

The turning point for me was during a mission trip to Nicaragua. I woke up feeling severely depressed for no apparent reason. I felt down and out, like giving up, throwing in the towel, calling it quits and running home to pull the covers over my head. It felt like my best friend had just died. I sat there for about 20 minutes trying to figure out what was wrong with me and crying out to God to help me escape these oppressive feelings.

As I persisted, I heard that still small voice in my spirit saying, “Despondent. This is how the people of this nation feel. Pray.” Despondence is a feeling of extreme discouragement, dejection or depression. Once the Lord gave me that insight, I joined with others in a circle to pray against the oppression with the weapons of our warfare, which are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Cor. 10:4).

That was a memorable lesson for me, and it was later reinforced by the teachings of E.M. Bounds, a saint who lived from 1835 to 1913. He may or may not have known it, but he was prophetic. He was certainly a man of prayer. He said things like this:

“We have in the Holy Spirit an illustration and an enabler of what this intercession is and ought to be. We are charged to supplicate in the Spirit and to pray in the Holy Spirit. We are reminded that the Holy Spirit ‘helpeth our infirmities,’ and that while intercession is an art of so divine and so high a nature that though we know not what to pray for as we ought, yet the Spirit teaches us this Heavenly science, by making intercession in us ‘with groanings which cannot be uttered.’

“How burdened these intercessions of the Holy Spirit! How profoundly He feels the world’s sin, the world’s woe, and the world’s loss, and how deeply He sympathizes with the dire conditions, are seen in His groanings which are too deep for utterance and too sacred to be voiced by Him.

“He inspires us to this most Divine work of intercession, and His strength enables us to sigh unto God for the oppressed, the burdened and the distressed creation. The Holy Spirit helps us in many ways. How intense will be the intercessions of the saints who supplicate in the spirit. How vain and delusive and how utterly fruitless and inefficient are prayers without the Spirit!”

E.M. Bounds understood prayer burdens. He understood how to recognize them. Do you? Sometimes God places someone on your heart and you pray. That kind of prayer burden is not difficult to recognize. But many times there’s a spiritual weight that comes with a prayer burden like the one I felt in Nicaragua. I’d describe it as:
• A heaviness of heart
• A restless mind
• A spirit of mourning
• Depressed emotions that seem to come on us out of nowhere

When this happens, we may think it’s just our own emotions. So what do we do? We focus on ourselves rather than pressing into intercession. A wise prophetic friend once explained it this way: “When these feelings come to us, the flesh wants us to focus on me, me, me and turn it inward. The Spirit wants us to focus on them, them, them, and turn to intercession.”

With that in mind, let’s consider some Scriptures that compare the flesh to the Spirit to drive this wisdom home:

Jesus said to watch and pray. He said the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Matt. 26:41). Jesus also said, “The Spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing” (John 6:63, NIV).

The apostle Paul said, “Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves” (Gal. 5:16, NLT). What does your sinful nature crave? Self-gratification.

Paul also said, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. … So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you” (Romans 8:5-9 KJV).

A few chapters later, Paul said, “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14). He also said, “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Gal. 5:17). And again, “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Gal. 6:8).

So what’s my point?

When you feel heavy-hearted, when you feel depressed, when you feel oppressed, when you feel out of sorts, don’t get into your mind about it. Even if it is your own personal problem, getting into your mind is not going to solve it. Pray in the Spirit. He is willing to help you with your infirmities and He wants to pray through you to help the infirmities of others.

Remember, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Walk after the Spirit and you won’t fulfill the lusts of the flesh. And get passionate about intercession.

In closing, I’ll leave you with another quote from E.M. Bounds:

“Desire burdens the chariot of prayer, and faith drives its wheels. Prayerless praying has no burden, because no sense of need; no ardency, because none of the vision, strength, or glow of faith. No mighty pressure to prayer, no holding on to God with the deathless, despairing grasp, ‘I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me.’ No utter self-abandon, lost in the throes of a desperate, pertinacious, and consuming plea: ‘Yet now if Thou wilt forgive their sin—if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book.’”

Are we ready to pray?

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Heart of the Prophetic. You can e-mail Jennifer at

@ or visit her website here.

There’s plenty of talk about prayer, prophetic intercession, standing in the gap, making up the hedge, prayer burdens, and, of course, spiritual warfare. But how do we discern the call to prayer? How do we recognize a proverbial prayer burden?

These questions may seem simple, but far too many saints have come to me carrying burdens they thought were their own when in reality they were feeling the weight of oppression over a person or a city. I know how they feel. It took me some years to learn to accurately divide soul and spirit.

The turning point for me was during a mission trip to Nicaragua. I woke up feeling severely depressed for no apparent reason. I felt down and out, like giving up, throwing in the towel, calling it quits and running home to pull the covers over my head. It felt like my best friend had just died. I sat there for about 20 minutes trying to figure out what was wrong with me and crying out to God to help me escape these oppressive feelings.

As I persisted, I heard that still small voice in my spirit saying, “Despondent. This is how the people of this nation feel. Pray.” Despondence is a feeling of extreme discouragement, dejection or depression. Once the Lord gave me that insight, I joined with others in a circle to pray against the oppression with the weapons of our warfare, which are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Cor. 10:4).

That was a memorable lesson for me, and it was later reinforced by the teachings of E.M. Bounds, a saint who lived from 1835 to 1913. He may or may not have known it, but he was prophetic. He was certainly a man of prayer. He said things like this:

“We have in the Holy Spirit an illustration and an enabler of what this intercession is and ought to be. We are charged to supplicate in the Spirit and to pray in the Holy Spirit. We are reminded that the Holy Spirit ‘helpeth our infirmities,’ and that while intercession is an art of so divine and so high a nature that though we know not what to pray for as we ought, yet the Spirit teaches us this Heavenly science, by making intercession in us ‘with groanings which cannot be uttered.’

“How burdened these intercessions of the Holy Spirit! How profoundly He feels the world’s sin, the world’s woe, and the world’s loss, and how deeply He sympathizes with the dire conditions, are seen in His groanings which are too deep for utterance and too sacred to be voiced by Him.

“He inspires us to this most Divine work of intercession, and His strength enables us to sigh unto God for the oppressed, the burdened and the distressed creation. The Holy Spirit helps us in many ways. How intense will be the intercessions of the saints who supplicate in the spirit. How vain and delusive and how utterly fruitless and inefficient are prayers without the Spirit!”

E.M. Bounds understood prayer burdens. He understood how to recognize them. Do you? Sometimes God places someone on your heart and you pray. That kind of prayer burden is not difficult to recognize. But many times there’s a spiritual weight that comes with a prayer burden like the one I felt in Nicaragua. I’d describe it as:
• A heaviness of heart
• A restless mind
• A spirit of mourning
• Depressed emotions that seem to come on us out of nowhere

When this happens, we may think it’s just our own emotions. So what do we do? We focus on ourselves rather than pressing into intercession. A wise prophetic friend once explained it this way: “When these feelings come to us, the flesh wants us to focus on me, me, me and turn it inward. The Spirit wants us to focus on them, them, them, and turn to intercession.”

With that in mind, let’s consider some Scriptures that compare the flesh to the Spirit to drive this wisdom home:

Jesus said to watch and pray. He said the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Matt. 26:41). Jesus also said, “The Spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing” (John 6:63, NIV).

The apostle Paul said, “Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves” (Gal. 5:16, NLT). What does your sinful nature crave? Self-gratification.

Paul also said, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. … So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you” (Romans 8:5-9 KJV).

A few chapters later, Paul said, “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14). He also said, “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Gal. 5:17). And again, “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Gal. 6:8).

So what’s my point?

When you feel heavy-hearted, when you feel depressed, when you feel oppressed, when you feel out of sorts, don’t get into your mind about it. Even if it is your own personal problem, getting into your mind is not going to solve it. Pray in the Spirit. He is willing to help you with your infirmities and He wants to pray through you to help the infirmities of others.

Remember, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Walk after the Spirit and you won’t fulfill the lusts of the flesh. And get passionate about intercession.

In closing, I’ll leave you with another quote from E.M. Bounds:

“Desire burdens the chariot of prayer, and faith drives its wheels. Prayerless praying has no burden, because no sense of need; no ardency, because none of the vision, strength, or glow of faith. No mighty pressure to prayer, no holding on to God with the deathless, despairing grasp, ‘I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me.’ No utter self-abandon, lost in the throes of a desperate, pertinacious, and consuming plea: ‘Yet now if Thou wilt forgive their sin—if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book.’”

Are we ready to pray?

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Heart of the Prophetic. You can e-mail Jennifer at

@ or visit her website here.

It’s irresponsible to loosely toss around emotionally charged
accusations. Phrases like “spiritual abuse,” “Christian cults” and “controlling
ministries” can be very harmful. I wouldn’t want to stand before Jesus and give account for
misspoken words that carry the potential to tear down what He is
building.

On the other hand, it’s also irresponsible to turn a blind eye to
spiritual abuse, Christian cults and controlling ministries. I wouldn’t
want to stand before Jesus and give account for supporting ministries
that are tearing down what He is building.

When spiritual leaders are caught in sex abuse scandals, the secular
and Christian media alike pen stories that offer the detestable details
and dogged denials. But spiritual abuse, cultish churches and
controlling ministries are less often exposed than pastors who coerce
teenaged boys and unsuspecting church secretaries to have sexual
relations.

That’s because victims of abusive church authority structures may not
even realize what they are enduring until they escape its grip.
Spiritual abuse is often subtle. Christian cult leaders don’t always
operate like Jim Jones. Controlling ministries tend to hide behind the
guise of spiritual coverings. And far too many outsiders are not willing
to even question the messages and practices of such churches. It takes
lovers of truth with spiritual discernment to recognize the
sometimes-subtle signs of abusive churches. And it takes courage to
confront it.

What exactly is spiritual abuse? Jeff VanVonderen, co-author of the classic book The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse,
explains it this way: “Spiritual abuse occurs when someone in a
position of spiritual authority … misuses that authority placing
themselves over God’s people to control, coerce or manipulate them for
seemingly godly purposes which are really their own.”

Spiritual abuse is hardly a new phenomenon. You can find instances in
the Bible of spiritual leaders exploiting people to build their
kingdoms. In Jeremiah 8, the Lord called out the abuse of prophets and
priests, saying, “They dress the wound of my people as though it were
not serious” (Jer. 8:11 NIV). The root problems of people in the
“church” were treated superficially. In other words, the pastor put a
Band-Aid on the problem so things looked good from the outside but the
wound was festering on the inside. The pastor’s prominence was more
important than the legitimate needs of the congregation.

Today, this manifests as spiritual leaders recruiting volunteers to
build their ministries while neglecting to minister to the real needs of
hurting people. In such cases, churches become like businesses. The
pastor is more like a CEO than a spiritual leader. Staff meetings center
on marketing initiatives that will bring more people—who will bring
more tithes and offerings—into the sanctuary. Church services becomes
about external appearances, but the white washed tombs are full of dead
men’s bones.

Jesus addressed spiritual abuse in His day. Beyond His warnings about
the Pharisees, Jesus also pointed out ravenous wolves. These ravenous
wolves look much like anointed prophets, but their motives are
dastardly. Today, the spiritually abusive Pharisaical pastor has a long
list of rules and demands and little grace for those who don’t rise to
the occasion.

Entire books have been written on spiritual abuse. Those books will
help you see spiritual abuse for what it is, how you got sucked into the
cycle, how to break free from spiritual abuse, and how to recover from
spiritual abuse once you’ve escaped its clutches. But for now, I want to
leave you with some nuggets from Dave Johnson and VanVonderen’s book, The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse.

Power-posturing is a telltale sign of spiritual abuse.
Power-posturing leaders spend a lot of time focused on their own
authority and reminding others of it. Johnson and VanVonderen say this
is necessary because their spiritual authority isn’t real—based on
genuine godly character—it is postured.

In practical terms, this might manifest as a leader who likes to
remind the congregation that he can excommunicate people or that any
anointing you are flowing in comes from the head (him). This leader can
never be questioned, and is usually not accountable to anyone. Those
around him are usually mere ‘yes men’ who do his bidding in exchange for
delegated authority to lord over others.

Performance preoccupation is a sign of spiritual abuse. Johnson and VanVonderen note that obedience and submission are two important words often used in abusive church structures.

Don’t get me wrong. Obedience and submission are important. But
spiritual abuse often shames or scares people into obedience and
submission. True obedience is a matter of the heart. Spiritual abusers
apply undue pressure that is not from God. That pressure is usually
applied to get you to do the leader’s will, not God’s will.

Unspoken rules are common in instances of spiritual abuse.
In abusive spiritual systems, Johnson and VanVonderen offer, people’s
lives are controlled from the outside in by rules, spoken and unspoken.

“Unspoken rules are those that govern unhealthy churches of families
but are not said out loud. Because they are not said out loud, you don’t
find out that they’re there until you break them,” Johnson and
VanVonderen write. It often seems these “rules” hold more power than
scripture.

The “Can’t Talk” rule is seen where spiritual abuse is present.
Johnson and VanVonderen explain that the “can’t talk” rule blames the
person who talks, and the ensuing punishments pressure questioners into
silence.

If you voice a problem you become the problem. If you question why
the church no longer picks up the poor kids in the ministry van but has
shifted its focus to more affluent neighborhoods, you are removed from
your role as a volunteer driver. Others see your fate and decide they’d
better not rock the boat. It’s a form of intimidation.

Lack of balance and extremism is often present where spiritual abuse lives.
This manifests as an unbalanced approach to living out the truth of the
Christian life. Johnson and VanVonderen explain that in these systems
it is more important to act according to the word of a leader who has “a
word” for you than to act according to what you know to be true from
scripture, or simply from your spiritual-growth history.

The truth is prophetic words don’t carry the same weight as
Scripture, and you can hear from God for yourself. When you rely on
other people to tell you what God is saying, you open the door to
control and manipulation.

It’s not possible to fully expose the inner workings of spiritual
abuse, Christian cults and controlling churches in a single article. My
goal is to raise awareness of a troubling issue and get you thinking—not
to send you on a witch hunt for spiritual abusers.

If you think you are part of a spiritually abusive cult-like or
controlling church, ask the Lord to break any deception off your mind
and show you the truth. The truth could be that you are in a healthy
church and you just need to die to self. But it could be that you are in
an abusive system and you need to break free. If your heart is purely
seeking the truth, the Holy Spirit will surely guide you there (John
16:13).

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Heart of the Prophetic. You can e-mail Jennifer at

@ or visit her website here.